DUSHNABE, 23.06.2017. /NIAT “Khovar”/. Reigning world champions Germany and Latin America champs Chile finished their 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup group stage encounter in Russia’s Kazan on Thursday with 1-1 draw, TASS reports.
Both teams met on seven occasions prior to tonight’s match with Germany having a record of five wins against two of the Chilean side. Three of their previous encounters were at FIFA World Cups with Germany winning all of them.
It was just six minutes into the match when Chile’s forward Alexis Sanchez delivered a first goal for his team sending the ball bouncing off the right pole into the German net.
Twenty minutes into the game Chile’s striker Eduardo Vargas made a dangerous shot from behind a penalty line but the ball crashed into the upper poll with only an inch missing instead of burning the net.
Following the dangerous attempt of the Chilean side Germany’s Lars Stindl earned a yellow card for wrecking into Chilean defender Jean Beausejour.
With less than five minutes before the break it was Stindl to kick the ball into the Chilean goal drawing the score to 1-1 and scoring his second goal in two matches at the current Federations Cup.
The Chilean and German sides played as equal opponents in the first half of the match at Kazan Arena and statistics showed that the ball possession was over 50 percent for Chile and they had five attempts on the goal compared to Germany’s four.
The second half began with a rough play on behalf of both opponents and the German side was handed another yellow card, namely to midfielder Sebastian Rudy on 60th minute. Four minutes later a referee handed out a yellow card to Chile’s Alexis Sanchez much to dismay of the Chilean football fans with spectators’ stands roaring in disapproval.
With ten minutes remaining in the game Chile’s Beausejour gripped and pulled back German defender Joshua Kimmich and earned another yellow card for his team.
The weather in Kazan was getting colder and colder late into the night but the heat of the match only intensified in the closing minutes of the game. However, the score of 1-1 remained unchanged until the final whistle.
Chile’s 28-year-old striker Alexis Sanchez was named the best player of the match and was awarded with a trophy.
Germany is playing its next and final group stage fixture on June 25 against Cameroon at Fisht Stadium in Russia’s Sochi, while Chile is taking on Australia on the same day at Spartak Stadium in Moscow.
Chile and Germany are currently in the first two places of their Group B having four points each ahead of Australia and Cameroon (one point each).
This year’s tournament is held between June 17 and July 2 at four stadiums in Russia and they are Spartak Stadium in Moscow, St. Petersburg Stadium, Fisht Stadium in Sochi and the Kazan Arena in Kazan.
Participants in the 2017 Confederations Cup are hosts Russia, 2014 FIFA World Cup Champions Germany, 2015 Copa America Champions Chile, 2015 AFC Asian Cup Champion Australia, 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup winners Mexico, 2016 UEFA Euro Cup champs Portugal, OFC (Oceania Football Confederation) Nations Cup victors New Zealand and 2017 CAF Africa Cup of Nations Champion Cameroon.